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With six wins out of six, an unbreached defense and tournament placement assured before the final rounds, England manager Thomas Tuchel might claim he has got all of his big qualifying decisions correct.

However, in the build-up to Thursday's home game against Serbia, he sparked a debate when he stated that three of the country's best players - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - are unable to feature in the same team.

"Presently, if we keep the structure, they won't fit together.

"They can but not with current tactics, not preserving harmony that we created and not for the structure that also includes wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We presently employ with defensive, central, attacking midfielders and striker."

From guaranteed positions to competitive roles

The Manchester City and Real Madrid stars have been deployed on the flanks for England in the past, but the manager's choices indicate that the Barcelona loanee and the Gunners' star are his first choices on the wide areas respectively.

The question remains whether Bellingham, Foden and Kane operate simultaneously?

Gareth Southgate apparently believed they could.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane featured in every England's seven games at the European Championship in Germany, where Southgate's side lost to Spain in the final.

In the 16 matches the trio have played alongside each other, England have won 10, tied three matches and lost three, registering 36 scores and conceding 14.

Strategic view: Versatile Foden offers solutions

Tuchel has utilized a 4-2-3-1 formation that alters structure when England attack.

Morgan Rogers has been the primary attacking midfielder because of his excellent dribbling, shooting ability and capacity to penetrate the area when the striker drops deep.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring natural flank operators. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars regularly feature on the wings and can hold the ball well, engage in one-on-one situations, and enter the area to finish.

In midfield behind the attackers, Tuchel plays with a midfield two consisting of a disciplined defensive presence and one with more license to join the forward movement.

What solutions exist for the trio?

Foden and Bellingham would be vying against other creative midfielders for the creative hub, with Kane likely to start up front.

Foden could play as the main forward, which theoretically could allow both Bellingham and Foden to operate without the captain.

There is a potential solution all three could coexist effectively and Tuchel suggested it this week.

"For Man City, he plays almost like a box-to-box or creative role, so potentially in future we view him as a central midfielder," he said.

Foden has been deployed in a versatile central position this season.

That has enabled him to operate from deeper areas and could make him an option as the central midfielder, next to a more defensive number six.

This would then enable Bellingham to operate as the creative force and Kane as the striker.

Irrespective of whether Tuchel opts to structure the side like this at the international competition, what seems encouraging is his readiness to exclude star names in the interest of team harmony.